7TH ONLINE GETS $3M TO GROW, CUSTOMIZE
Byline: Valerie Seckler
NEW YORK — Business-to-business fashion marketplace 7thOnline has secured $3 million in its first round of institutional financing, completed July 30.
The exchange, which went live in November 1999, expects to allocate the funds for two primary purposes during the next two years, said Chaim Edelstein, the dot-com’s chairman and former chief executive of Abraham & Straus: developing customized applications for clients, and extending the sales staff to 10 people from three, including the hire of a national sales manager.
The round of financing was led by Himalaya Capital and Silicon Alley Venture Partners, and includes investments by Patricof & Co. Ventures, New York City Investment Fund, Stonehenge Capital, Hong Kong-based apparel maker Wing Tai Corp, and by one of the B2B’s original backers, Chazen Capital Partners, an early-stage Internet investment firm founded in 1997 by David Chazen and his father, Jerome Chazen, former chairman of Liz Claiborne Inc.
With 15 vendors on its roster — including Leslie Fay, Hartmarx, Ocean Pacific and Donna Ricco — Edelstein estimated Tuesday 7thOnline would facilitate B2B transactions amounting to about $1 million this year and $10 million in 2002.
Vendors seeking to sell at 7thOnline pay a page fee for their e-showroom and fees on transactions; in return, they receive a range of services from 7th Online. Retailers register, but don’t pay, to shop the site as is typical of B2B marketplaces.